Axemen chop down CIS #3 ranked Huskies 5-2

Leier & Thompson net two each

The Acadia Axemen came into Friday’s game with something to prove. After dropping a 4-3 shootout loss to the Dalhousie Tigers on Wednesday night, Acadia came back to Halifax wanting to show that they are still one of the elite hockey teams in the CIS, and they did just that. When the final buzzer rang, the Axemen were heading home with a 5-2 victory over the CIS #3 ranked Saint Mary’s Huskies.

It didn’t take long for the Axemen to take the early lead, just 27 seconds into the opening frame, 2^nd year forward Boston Leier let go a snap shot that beat SMU goalie Cole Cheveldave, high to the glove side, to give Acadia the early confidence booster.

At 13:43, with Huskie teammate Justin Wellar in the penalty box, Stephen MacAulay stole the puck from Axemen defenceman Matt Pufahl behind the Acadia net, and MacAulay was able to tuck the puck behind Brandon Glover to tie the game at 1.

But before the Huskies could kill off Wellar’s minor penalty, Boston Leier wired his second of the game past the Huskies goalie, to put the Axemen up 2-1, with assists going to Sam Fioretti and Geoff Schemitsch.

The only goal of the second period came off the stick of SMU’s Mitchell Maynard, as he let a slap shot go from the top of the circle that pinballed off two Axemen and past a screened Glover to square the score at two.

2:22 into the third period, Axemen captain Brett Thompson scored his first goal of the season, putting the puck over the blocker of Cheveldave to put the Axemen ahead to stay. Michael Clarke and Remy Giftopoulos picked up the helpers on the goal. Exactly six minutes later, Clarke added a goal of his own, this one on the powerplay, with assists from Taylor Makin and Matt Pufahl.

With time winding down, and just under three minutes remaining in the game, the Huskies decided to pull their goaltender in favor of an extra attacker, but Brett Thompson took a pass from Matt Pufahl in the neutral zone, skated the puck over the blue line before depositing it into the open net for his second on the night. Remy Giftopoulos picked up the second assist on the goal.

Acadia outshot Saint Mary’s 31-19 on the night, with Brandon Glover picking up the win for Acadia, and Cheveldave taking the loss for the Huskies. Acadia was 2 for 6 on the powerplay, while SMU was 0 for 5 with the man advantage. Axemen co-captain Mike Cazzola sat out his second straight game with day to day injury. Next up for the Axemen, they travel to UNB to face the Varsity Reds on Friday night in Fredericton.